Short title

This Act may be cited as the

Conflict Resolution and Mediation Act of 2009

Findings and purpose

(a)

Findings

The Congress finds the following: (1)On Wednesday, October 7, 2009, in a speech detailing the violence that our youth face, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan noted that, currently, 30 percent of students, or about 1,200,000 students a year, fail to complete high school on time. (2)The Division of Violence Prevention within the Centers for Disease Control observed that violence diminishes and destroys the quality of life and freedom of individuals, families and communities … young people cannot learn and succeed in life if they are afraid to go to school. (3)The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention find that young people are both the victims and perpetrators of violence, with homicide being the second leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24. (4)The U.S. Conference of Mayors states that youth violence is a public health crisis and have declared that [w]e can’t arrest our way out of this problem … prevention is the key to long-term success. (5)In 2007, of a nationally representative sample of students in grades 9 through 12, 4.2 percent reported being in a physical fight one or more times in the previous 12 months that resulted in injuries that had to be treated by a doctor or nurse. (6)In a 2007 nationally representative sample of youth in grades 9 through 12 regarding violence-related behaviors, the CDC found— (A)12.4 percent reported being in a physical fight on school property in the 12 months preceding the survey, with 16.3 percent of male students and 8.5 percent of female students reported being in a physical fight on school property in the 12 months preceding the survey; (B)27.1 percent of students reported having property stolen or deliberately damaged on school property and 5.5 percent did not go to school on one or more days in the 30 days preceding the survey because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to or from school; and (C)5.9 percent reported carrying a weapon (gun, knife, or club) on school property on one or more days in the 30 days preceding the survey and 7.8 percent reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property one or more times. (7)In a 2007 nationally representative sample of youth in grades 9 through 12 regarding youth violence, the CDC found— (A)35.5 percent reported being in a physical fight in the 12 months preceding the survey; the prevalence was higher among males (44.4 percent) than females (26.5 percent); and (B)18 percent reported carrying a weapon (gun, knife, or club) on one or more days in the 30 days preceding the survey and 5.2 percent carried a gun on one or more days in the 30 days preceding the survey. (8)An estimated 30 percent of 6th to 10th graders in the United States were either a bully, a target of bullying, or both. (9)From 1992 to 1999, perpetrators of school-associated homicides were nine times as likely as victims to have exhibited some form of suicidal behavior before the event, and were more than twice as likely as victims to have been bullied by their peers and more than half of the incidents over this period were preceded by some signal, such as threats, notes, or journal entries that indicated the potential for the coming event. (10)Most of the violent events involving students occur during the transition times around the start of the school day, the lunch period, and at the end of the school day. (11)While rates of school-associated student homicides decreased between 1992 and 2006, they remained relatively stable in recent years and were significantly higher for males, students in secondary schools, and students in central cities. (12)From 1999 to 2006, most school-associated homicides included gunshot wounds (65 percent), stabbing or cutting (27 percent), and beating (12 percent). (13)The CDC estimates that women experience 4,800,000 Intimate Partner Violence, or domestic-related, physical assaults and rapes per year and men are the victims of about 2,900,000 IPV-related physical assaults annually. (14)Children who bear the burden of witnessing violent acts, whether at home, in school, or in their communities must be taught coping mechanisms before they are desensitized to violence and violent acts. (b)

Purpose

The purpose of this Act is to provide assistance to local educational agencies for the prevention and reduction of conflict and violence in schools throughout the country.

Conflict resolution and mediation program authorized

(a)

In general

The Secretary of Education is authorized to make grants to local educational agencies to provide assistance to schools served by the agency that are most directly affected by conflict and violence. (b)

Model project

The Secretary shall develop a written model for conflict resolution and mediation written within 90 days and make such model available to any local educational agency that requests such information. (c)

Authorization of Appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2015 to carry out the projects under this Act.

Use of funds

Grants made by the Secretary under this Act shall be used to develop programs for conflict resolution and mediation for students, teachers, and other personnel in regular contact with students at school.

Eligible Applicants

(a)

In general

In order to be eligible to receive a grant under this Act for any fiscal year, a local educational agency shall submit an application to the Secretary in such form and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. (b)

Requirements

Each application under subsection (a) shall include— (1)a request for funds for the purposes described in section 2(b); (2)information about the schools and communities to be served by the grant, including the nature of the conflict and violence problems within and around the schools; (3)statistical information in such form and containing such information that the Secretary may require regarding conflict and violence within such schools and surrounding communities; and (4)assurances that Federal funds received under this Act shall be used to supplement, not supplant, non-Federal funds that would otherwise be available for activities funded under this Act. (c)

Comprehensive plan

Each application shall include a comprehensive plan that shall contain— (1)a description of the conflict and violence problems within the schools served by the local educational agency and surrounding community targeted for assistance; (2)a description of the resources available in the community to help implement the plan together with a description of the areas in the plan that cannot be filled with existing resources; and (3)a description of the system the applicant will establish to prevent and reduce ongoing conflict and violence problems.

Allocation of funds; limitations on grants

(a)

Administrative cost limitation

The Secretary shall use not more than 5 percent of the funds available under this Act for the purposes of administration and technical assistance. (b)

Renewal of grants

A grant under this Act may be renewed for not more than 2 additional years after the first fiscal year during which the recipient receives an initial grant under this Act, subject to the availability of funds, if— (1)the Secretary determines that the funds made available to the recipient during the previous year were used in a manner required under the approved application; and (2)the Secretary determines that an additional grant is necessary to implement the violence prevention program described in the comprehensive plan as required by section 5(c).

Award of grants

(a)

Selection of recipients

The Secretary shall consider the following factors in awarding grants to local educational agencies: (1)

Conflict and violence problem

The nature and scope of the violence problem in the targeted schools. (2)

Need and ability

Demonstrated need and evidence of the ability to provide the services described in the plan required under section 5(c). (3)

Population

The number of students to be served by the plan required under section 5(c). (b)

Geographic distribution

The Secretary shall attempt, to the extent practicable, to achieve an equitable geographic distribution of grant awards.

Reports

(a)

Reports

Local educational agencies that receive funds under this Act shall submit to the Secretary a detailed report not later than March 1 of each year that describes progress achieved in carrying out the plan required under section 5(c). (b)

Report to Congress

The Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report by October 1 of each year in which grants are made available under this Act which shall contain a detailed statement regarding grant awards, activities of grant recipients, a compilation of statistical information submitted by applicants under section 5(b)(3), and an evaluation of programs established under this Act.

Definitions

For the purpose of this Act: (1)The term local educational agency has the meaning given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). (2)The term Secretary means the Secretary of Education.